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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23809831">5 gifts peter got for mj and 1 she gave him</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/petertheparkerpus_mjmonogram/pseuds/petertheparkerpus_mjmonogram'>petertheparkerpus_mjmonogram</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gift Giving, Mutual Pining, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Pre-Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Romantic Fluff, Soft Michelle Jones, Soft Peter Parker, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, precious michelle jones, soft, soft babies, they are precious babies that deserve the world</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:33:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23809831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/petertheparkerpus_mjmonogram/pseuds/petertheparkerpus_mjmonogram</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>they are precious babies that deserve the world. and once again, i reiterate, I FREAKING LOVE DEVELOPING PETER &amp; MJ'S RELATIONSHIP IIII CAAANNNTTTTTTT</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds &amp; Peter Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>5 gifts peter got for mj and 1 she gave him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>they are precious babies that deserve the world. and once again, i reiterate, I FREAKING LOVE DEVELOPING PETER &amp; MJ'S RELATIONSHIP IIII CAAANNNTTTTTTT</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><ul>
<li>after hoco and peter starts to gain a <strike> work</strike> spidey life balance, he finally starts to notice that mj apparently… cares… about… him???</li>
<li>it wasn’t obvious at first, hidden under a layer of deadpan sarcasm and witty comebacks, but the interest seemed to be there</li>
<li>which was why every time peter would miss a meeting, he’d actually feel bad this time because he <em>really <b>did</b></em> want to be there this time</li>
<li>he’d feel terrible every time mj would ask him where he was, why he didn’t show up. she was hoping he’d show and he let her down.</li>
<li>the first couple of times it happens, mj’s understanding enough.</li>
<li>but it happens a couple of times too often and back to back and something snaps</li>
<li>you see, peter and mj have developed a bit of a rapport over the couple of months after hoco.</li>
<li>peter finds out mj likes coffee and tea, she read a stephen king book one time, he noticed, and they talked basically all week about king (and some of the issues surrounding him, his work, and their adaptations ofc)</li>
<li>soon enough their talks extend beyond school and they start meeting up in the library, at their places, at coffee shops, pizza places, an arcade one time where mj managed to beat peter at air hockey. her lil energetic whoop and almost doing a victory dance (before realizing she was in public) was worth losing for.</li>
<li>but admittedly, peter was just a tinge bit stressed and overextended and he unfortunately let his time with mj fall by the wayside.</li>
<li>he’d accidentally left her at seen for days after he completely forgot she sent him a message. she called, he answered, a robber was currently running away from some cops, he hung up on her…</li>
<li>suffice it to say, peter became a bit of a bad friend and he completely understood why mj reverted back to their previous relationship, he did it first</li>
<li>which was why peter decided enough was enough</li>
<li>mj has been a great friend to him, a true one, and an underappreciated one at that</li>
<li>which was why he decided he’d spend as much time, effort, and thoughtful gestures necessary trying to make it up to her</li>
<li>problem was, they were currently on clipped one word reply speaking terms right now. mj barely looked at him, she went back to sitting all the way to the other side of the farthest table during lunch again…</li>
<li>he needed a way in</li>
</ul><p>Make up gift # 1: coffee</p><ul>
<li>so he went back to basics, the next day, he knew mj had a 7 am class so peter went to school at 7 am too, just to give mj some much needed caffeine</li>
<li>trouble was, was that mj was running late and when he gave the coffee, she left just as quick as she came</li>
<li>she said a quick “thanks, parker” and swoosh she sprinted to class</li>
<li>and peter was left there with 3 hours to spare til his next class. oh well, at least the effort made her do that quick lil toothy smirk</li>
<li>his efforts would work eventually won’t it?</li>
<li>but if an omniscient narrator were watching him for the following days, they probably would have said no, no they wouldn’t</li>
</ul><p>Make up gift # 2: tea</p><ul>
<li>one of those days, peter brought a thermos of tea only to find that mj had brought her own</li>
<li>“great, i thought the point of these gifts were to make things less awkward between us” peter thought to himself as he winds up walking away in slight shame from the awkward interaction</li>
<li>he winds up sharing the thermos with ned instead, who promptly responded “wow i get your secondhand gifts, you sure know how to make a guy feel special, peter”</li>
<li>“shut up, ned, do you want some or not?”</li>
<li>“no, come on, give it to me. free drinks are free drinks even if it’s essentially just warm leaf juice. besides, i heard this helps with a sore throat.”</li>
<li>“well, at least someone’s happy with my gift”</li>
<li>they clink their cups together and peter begins brainstorming his next probably bound to fail gift idea</li>
</ul><p>Make up gift # 3: bookmarks</p><ul>
<li>as he was walking home from school that day, and saw mj heading to the library, said idea lights up in his head in the form of bookmarks</li>
<li>those were cute right? and mj would probably use em all the time cus she reads so much and she reads multiple books at a time, so she’d probably use multiple bookmarks as well, right?</li>
<li>bookmarks it was, peter decided</li>
<li>he thought he’d print a bunch of personalized ones. ones that were photos of them, had quotes from significant historical female figures, and of course science puns</li>
<li>he knew mj didn’t appreciate them as much as he did, but a part of him thought she’d like them nevertheless <strike>and would think of him when she’d use them</strike>
</li>
<li>peter knew this gift giving crusade would be… heavy on his wallet, but as he stared at the price for laminating a couple of personalized bookmarks. he concluded lamination was a scam and believed mj would be careful enough with her books, and consequently, her bookmarks, to not need some flimsy piece of plastic to protect it</li>
<li>so peter opted for some folders and cardboard to make said bookmarks instead</li>
<li>it’s only later after he got tossed into a sewer by a dude in a mechanized rhinoceros suit that he learned a valuable lesson: always laminate bookmarks</li>
<li>ok he was kidding (lamination was still a scam and bad for the environment and you couldnt write on the things after you laminate em)</li>
<li>but really tho, he did learn something. he realized he hasn’t had the best of luck keeping his gifts intact in time to give said gifts to mj</li>
<li>so he decided to employ reinforcements</li>
</ul><p>Make up gift # 4: a notebook</p><ul>
<li>once peter’s saved enough money to buy his next gift (a sketch notebook that he saw at a cutesy old crafts store), he decides that he should take ned with him when he buys it and that ned should just give it to mj instead</li>
<li>(better safe than sorry)</li>
</ul><p>Make up gift # 5: a heartfelt letter</p><ul>
<li>but peter still wanted mj to know the gift was from him tho, so he decided to write a letter and insert it within the notebook.</li>
<li>so he writes, or more like incoherently rambles and apologizes really</li>
<li>but peter thinks he got to the crux of the importance their relationship had to him and really, he just wanted to make things up to mj</li>
<li>that’s what mattered</li>
<li>here’s the thing tho, halfway thru writing said letter, he realized that having ned give it to her was kind of a cop out.</li>
<li>not to mention, not giving it personally but writing this long ass sort of confessional letter?</li>
<li>pfftt peter liked to think he was better than that</li>
<li>talk about sending mixed messages</li>
<li>so peter decided that he would still have ned keep the notebook and the letter, right up until the point that he was going to give the gifts to her.</li>
<li>and finally, peter parker, in this whole gift giving crusade, is finally given a fucking break.</li>
<li>at lunch time, the three of them are now all sitting at the same table</li>
<li>(peter and mj’s relationship have mostly improved in the time it took him trying to give all those gifts, but he still felt guilty and he still wanted to show his appreciation for her)</li>
<li>ned “slyly” (mj saw it, how sly could he have been?) passes peter the notebook under the table</li>
<li>and peter braces himself</li>
<li>“i can do this” he repeatedly quietly mutters to himself until he finally approaches</li>
<li>“hey, mj”</li>
<li>“greetings, parker” casually replies mj without so much as looking up from her book</li>
<li>“i uh… got you something”</li>
<li>“is it something ned gave you?”</li>
<li>“what?”</li>
<li>“cause if it is, he can give it to me himself, you know” says mj in a semi shout to ned as well (ned looks at peter with a facial expression that said dude wtff?? how did i get in the middle of this???)</li>
<li>“what? no no no this isn’t from ned. i bought you this.”</li>
<li>“so why did ned have it?” says mj in her cool suave investigator mj interrogatory tone</li>
<li>“well…”</li>
<li>peter had officially maybe five? six? seconds to decide whether to share his embarrassing tales of failed gift giving woes to mj or to make up something on the spot</li>
<li>screw it, embarrassing failed gifts it was instead. truth shall set you free and all that, right? plus maybe it’d help him practice for when he tells her his biggest secret</li>
<li>peter sighs in defeat and tells mj in an almost quiet mumble “all my other gifts were destroyed when i kept them so i decided to have ned keep them instead”</li>
<li>“i’m sorry what?”</li>
<li>“it’s just that the last time i tried to get you a gift, it just wound up getting ruined so i thought i’d just have ned hold onto it until it was time to give it to you.”</li>
<li>peter can barely look mj in the eyes, the cafeteria just seems so interesting all of a sudden.</li>
<li>“oh”</li>
<li>that made peter look back at mj cus she seemed… shocked?</li>
<li>mj is…. shocked????</li>
<li>“soo… you bought that… for me?”</li>
<li>and god forsake peter parker because mj just gave him the cutest shyest little happy smile that he never knew she was capable of having.</li>
<li>“yeah yeah i did” and peter finally gets to give mj his gifts and all the other trials and errors and failed gift attempts completely made the end result worth it</li>
<li>until ofc mj opens the damn thing and finds said letter that peter had completely forgotten at the moment was there</li>
<li>“what’s this??” mj asks in an overly sarcastic teasing tone that kinda makes peter want to die</li>
<li>as mj opens the letter right there during lunch in the school cafeteria, peter suddenly lunges to block said letter’s contents from mj’s sight</li>
<li>“peter what the hell are you doing?” asks mj with the sweetest laughter that peter would totally googoo eyes about at any other moment had he not been focused on trying (and obviously failing) to keep his dignity intact</li>
<li>“uhhh can i ask that you just read that some other time, mj? and uh not right here, right now, in the cafeteria? it’s just really embarrassing” peter shyly requests of mj, scratching his neck and looking at everything in the cafeteria but her</li>
<li>to that, mj simply has a sympathetic look on her face in reply</li>
<li>“sure, peter” says mj with a reassuring smile</li>
<li>and with that, peter breathes a big sigh of relief and finally lets go of his feelings letter for mj</li>
<li>mj closes the notebook up, keeping the letter safe inside it in the process, and secures the notebook safe inside her bag inmediately</li>
<li>suffice it to say, for mj, that notebook is precious cargo and she shall treasure it as much as she is capable of treasuring something</li>
<li>because peter parker felt guilty over not getting to spend time with her as much as they did and kind of pushing her to the sidelines and so it was just a genuine thoughtful gesture that showed peter valued their friendship/relationship as much as she valued it</li>
<li>PRECIOUS. CARGO.</li>
<li>but speaking of said cargo…</li>
<li>“hey peter”</li>
<li>“yeah?”</li>
<li>peter had gone back to his seat right next to ned</li>
<li>“sooo what was the other gift you tried to give me?” asks mj, getting back to their playful teasing banter ways</li>
<li>mj’s question sends peter facepalming himself with the table</li>
<li>“don’t think i’ve forgotten about that, i’m probably not going to stop investigating til i find out so might as well just spill the truth, parker”</li>
<li>peter stops his repetitive headbanging onto the table and sighs</li>
<li>“fine, mj”</li>
<li>and peter goes on to explain his bookmarks idea beginning all the way from the thermos incident</li>
<li>the three of them spend the rest of their lunch looking at the photos peter was going to use for the bookmarks, fondly recalling memories upon looking back at the some of the photos and laughing at all the corny science puns peter had planned on using as well</li>
<li>things were finally back to normal, if not better than ever.</li>
</ul><p>the one gift mj gave for peter in return:</p><ul>
<li>here’s the thing, mj had an inkling peter parker was trying to attempt something</li>
<li>he was at school at the same time as her crack of dawn class and gave her some much needed caffeine</li>
<li>he tried to share his thermos of tea with her</li>
<li>it seemed like peter was trying to make amends and it really was sweet and thoughtful so ofc lil by lil she began to soften back</li>
<li>but as mj was printing the bookmarks peter had planned to give her</li>
<li>mj requisitioned the idea for herself since they actually were good ideas if she’s being honest</li>
<li>tho she would never tell peter that, ESPECIALLY the science puns one</li>
<li>she’d reserve those for only when she’s at home, the least likely place peter could ever see her use that</li>
<li>ok so back to- as mj was printing said bookmarks, she began to appreciate peter’s thoughtfulness</li>
<li>and it is totally not because of any feelings said gifts and gift attempts gave her</li>
<li>but right now, as she had finished printing bookmarks and got nostalgic and reread the letter of peter confessing to her how much their relationship meant to him again, she suddenly had the unscratchable itch of needing to sketch peter</li>
<li>and a balancing of the scales gift idea was born</li>
<li>because you see, rn, peter had the upper hand in terms of the morality of their friendship and mj couldnt have that nooo</li>
<li>mj was sketching a screen cap of a video she took of the class while they were waiting for a professor and peter gave her that impossibly adorkable smile</li>
</ul><p>
  
</p><ul>
<li>because she HAD TO</li>
<li>she couldnt let peter hog all the gift giving glory</li>
<li>she didnt do it because of feelings or whatever ppfftt</li>
<li>this was just to balance the scales, mkayyyy???</li>
<li>or at least that’s what mj told herself once she’s finished her sketch and proceeded to look for all her old ones of peter</li>
<li>just to even things out</li>
<li>and that’s exactly what mj told him as she shoved said sketches that were currently inside a plastic envelope onto peter’s hands</li>
<li>(1. less likely for them to be ruined that way. 2. she was not going to have those sketches out in the open for everyone to plainly see wtf)</li>
<li>“this is just to make things even between us, no need to make a big deal about it”</li>
<li>peter was in awe for a while, his jaw slightly dropped, but he smiles in adoration of the girl of his dreams and gives a genuine “thank you, mj”</li>
<li>“you’re welcome, peter.”</li>
<li>mj even smiles a little before the bell rings and she hightails out of there</li>
<li>mj lightly sprints away, still slightly in shock and unsure of what she just did and what just happened</li>
<li>while peter is left looking at mj’s direction fondly and looking back at her gift for him</li>
<li>and as he peeked inside the envelope to see its contents and saw all those sketches of him</li>
<li>peter felt like he truly didn’t deserve someone like mj</li>
<li>and he felt like all the gifts in the world he could think of and muster up wouldn’t be able to make up for that fact</li>
</ul>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>SOOOFFFTTT.</p><p>BAAABIIEEEESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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